Chapter Seven: Death God Reborn
The King Liger roared in excitement and purred as it surged ahead, heavy footfalls from its broad paws stamping into the sand as Van and Zeke goaded the Zoid quicker ahead as Fiona spoke with a perturbed lilt to her voice.
"Okay you two, Colonel Schubaltz isn't too far away. Just a few klicks, no need to get so-" Fiona let out a startled yelp as a dark shape suddenly darted overhead, the black and red Saber Fang yowling as it landed with a spray of sand as it sprawled out low, Colonel Karl Lichten Schubaltz smirking as he addressed the trio.
"I apologize for my lack of communication, but after receiving signatures so vastly different than the Blade Liger's, my curiosity got the best of me. Glad to see you Van, care to explain this Zoid?" With a grin the Miracle Boy retorted.
"Well hello to you too, Colonel Shubaltz. Glad you're ready to get underway with our mission, then?" The blonde removed the cap on his head and nodded, glancing to the potted black lily resting on the console of the Saber Fang, nestled within a shallow round depression.
"Very much so. Raven's attitude in our last encounter seems to have changed dramatically, and since we've heard nothing but insubstantial rumors since our last confirmed sighting of the Geno Breaker, I'm quite curious to see what state the Zoid and Raven are in." He replaced his cap and tucked his chin as his expression became neutral. "But enough of that. Miss Fiona, am I too presumptuous in guessing you and Zeke had a hand in this?" Fiona giggled as she leaned over Van's seat and replied.
"Hello Colonel Schubaltz, and no, I'm quite flattered you'd think Zeke and I had anything to do with this. It was the Blade Liger's demand to meet Van's potential, all Zeke and I could do was our best to accommodate." The blonde chuckled as he remarked.
"Well, I'd imagine meeting the potential of a two-time world savior would be cause enough." Van glanced back with a knit brow as he snarked.
"Oh as if, remember when I couldn't deploy the shield without Zeke? And you two saved my hide during the last fight we had with the Geno Saurer the first go around." Van chuckled and gave Fiona a teasing wink. "I'd be nobody without these two." Karl blinked rapidly, taken aback as he struggled to think back to when it was possible for Van to have ever not excelled. He laughed to himself before he addressed the couple.
"Well enough of the formalities, Van, Fiona, are you ready?" Zeke roared loudly, the three chuckling as Karl tacked on to his question, addressing the threesome properly. "Van, Fiona, and Zeke, shall we carry on? It's going to be a long trip, so get comfortable." Fiona leaned over the back of the seat in front of her with a catty grin, reaching over with both hands to tease at Van's shoulders with her fingertips kneading gentle swirls against him, his eager grin back at her bringing the two closer as they replied.
"Let's go!"
In the middle of the oasis beside the lake the glowing red crystal had been letting out a deep humming much to Raven's interest. Specular had now and then pressed her snout to Raven's arm letting him sense Shadow and Reese's presence, the faint thrumming of something otherworldly in his head a perplexing but curious and welcome sensation nonetheless. When the new Zoid would be born was far beyond Raven's ability to guess, but with growing impatience about the new creation he hoped it would be soon as he leaned back against the chair as he sat in the kitchen, idly glancing outside the window with a near obsessive frequency. A whining growl to his left from Specular garnered his attention. The Organoid often chose to simply growl messages, instead of the typical mental link an Organoid would share with its master and others. Maybe she just didn't want to talk, he mused to himself, before he addressed the small Zoid aloud.
"I know, Specular. They've been gone for a week now. I- I miss her too. Now don't go telling anyone that, alright? I'm trusting you to keep a secret." The Organoid let out a stuttering hiss. Was she laughing at him? She pressed her snout again to his hand, and another odd feeling grew in the back of his mind. It was warm, fluttery, and- happy? Raven's cheeks were tinged red as he realized the betrayal that had occurred. "Hey, I said not to tell, damn it! Hmph, last time I'm putting any faith in you, traitor!" Raven's griping was met with another snickering hiss, the amused azure Organoid slipping her way out the doorway with a quiet grace. Raven shook his head with a sigh as he thought to himself. "The first time I try to be civil with that lousy Zoid and the first thing she does is tell Reese I miss her? Ugh, what a petty little-"
A bright flashing outside caught Raven's attention as the cocoon stirred. Rushing outside he quickly shielded his eyes and attempted to peer between his fingers at the radiant object, the crystal beginning to emit a pulsating humming sound, the crimson shell brightening to a striking violet then blue, then back from azure to purple then crimson again as thin cracks spread slowly over the surface at the top, snaking downwards and spreading as blinding white began seeping through the crevices until the whole cocoon burst open, the shards moving not outwards but to the skies as they disintegrated into a red shaft of energy, crackling as it speared upwards to the heavens. Opening his eyes in the absence of the bright light, his lips parted as his mouth opened in a silent expression of awe.
The Zoid that stood before him and Specular was awe inspiring, its predecessor the Geno Breaker now utterly eclipsed by its new form.
It was taller now, its head level with where the top of the Geno Breaker's thrusters would have been. The whole Zoid was much less brutishly angled than before, almost organic in appearance, as if the wild embodiment of all tyrannosaurus Zoids before and ever after stood in front of them clad in scarlet and silver. The legs were longer and leaner, thighs covered in plates of blood red armor that enveloped them completely except for the flaps in the back of its haunches that showed a pair of thrusters, a trace of dark silver along the edges of the metal. The venting along the lower legs was equally sleek and narrow, the once-squared knee armor now sharp and triangular with a short narrow point bordered by silver again adding yet another lethal blow to its immense arsenal. The lower leg's weapon binders were now absent, and the ankle boosters framed by three rounded lobes, the flaps encircling to vector their thrust. The feet were more narrow, dark silver talons even more imposing as the Zoid raised onto the digits with a flex of the robust segmented actuators within its extremities, balancing on its toes and stepping to widen its stance as Raven caught sight of each of the silver footlocks poised high at its heels, at their ends a pair of sharp spikes adjacent to one another, pointed downward to hold the Zoid steadfast as it fired its most horrible weapon. Its arms too were longer and more limber, almost grasping at the ground as the shoulders were capped by sharp angular red and silver like its jagged knees, a pair of small boosters mounted between the sleek armor and the elbow's joint as the nozzles nestled therein pitched and yawed. The silver clawed hands flexed, three curved talons and a small hooked thumb now lifting to expose a pair of forty millimeter machine gun barrels beneath each wrist.
The body was elongated and no less robust; where the cockpit hatch was on the Geno Breaker there was nothing but armored breast, a steep concave triangular prow like the bow of a warship, silver metal gracefully framing the sides as well as a glimmering strip down the front. The tail was altered as well with thick plates of angular armor covering the exhaust vents, the upper sections' long overhanging lobes curving sharply down and overlapping the bottom sections, the seven segments of its lengthy tail covered in heavy metal with jagged triangular interleaving edges. The charged particle converter's backpack was flatter in profile, and the boosters on either side of it were now a pair of long kite-shaped pods, the top and bottom of each one flaring open to reveal the engine nozzles within, silver edges flashing in the sun as the intake fan slowly stirred, idly rotating as the Zoid became more active. The shields on the manipulator arms were proportionally increased in size, and each of the weapon binders on the lower leg had been moved to the inside of the shield, though the two pairs of long cannon barrels were now folded backwards, a quartet of one-hundred and fifty millimeter guns concealed otherwise behind the thick plates of metal. The massive silver blades between the guns and the shield now slid out from their confines with an ominous ringing like oversized knives, not as dramatically curved as before with a shallow arch ending about a third of the way along the blade before it continued straight forward into a razor sharp point, the edge continuing all the way along the back of the blade. Serrations were present in the form of additional metal bolted onto the inner edge of the blades, the triangular jags facing rearwards and interlocking together like teeth.
It turned its head to face Raven, glowing blue eyes positioned forward above ridges with thin vents along them as they blazed like a pair of stars, the binocular vision of the Zoid staring him down as a wave of awe washed over the young man. The squared-off angles of its head were now gradually tapered from the wide base of its skull towards a blunt wedge-shaped snout, long jags of teeth within its maw gleaming as it let out a growl, the air vibrating as it called.
The brilliant and sharp sapphire eyes gleamed brighter as the long bladed horn on its head flipped forward displaying the crest; the formerly square ridges now long and narrow spikes gleaming in the sun, the very base of the Zoid's head flaring outwards into a ceratopsid-like crest that vented short puffs of steam from the crown of its head. Lavender gyro caps slowly rotated as it shifted, taking a slow deliberate step forward that shook the sandy earth before it stopped and looked at Raven, gleaming eyes whirring as their apertures focused. As the Maverick gazed in shock and complete awe of the massive tyrannosaurus in front of him, the crimson and silver Zoid roared and craned its head up high. A blue burst shot out from its center materializing into Shadow who hastily landed on the sand then quickly collapsed as panels all over his chest flared open as Reese rolled out, the two limp as the newly born Zoid's horn receded as its eyes became dim, their bright sapphire color fading to a deep sanguine.
"Reese!" Raven dashed over to her, scooping her up in his arms and cradling her closely, eyes roving over her still form as he exhaled in relief that she was breathing. Shadow groaned slightly, letting out a huff of air through his nostrils as he slowly rolled onto his side, lifting his head lazily. "Reese, are you okay?" He brushed errant locks from her face, his rough and scarred hands gently helping her upright. Her eyes fluttered open, and a smile spread across her lips as she saw who was holding her so tenderly, the infamous nightmare of the Guardian Force looking concerned as he held her. With a content grin she whispered.
"I knew you'd miss me."
Van looked at the map impatiently yet again. After their rendezvous with Karl Schubaltz and one thousand kilometers of exquisite desert scenery consisting of sand, sand, sand, sand, incredibly small particles of stone eroded away over eons, and even more Eve damned sand, he was getting exhausted with the journey and was delighted to see the blip marking their destination only one hundred kilometers away. He was not delighted however, to see that it had grown considerably larger and brighter over the past few minutes as he knit his brow.
"Hey Karl, we've got a pretty big increase in the signature all of the sudden. What do you think is going on?" Fiona spoke as quickly as she typed, setting her data pad aside as she finished her task.
"It looks like it's been three days since we started our journey, and the power has grown steadily since then... But now, it's almost as if the sudden increase is-" Karl interjected, gripping the controls tighter as he looked towards the black lily in the console of the Saber Tiger, the plant tucked into its typical location.
"Hopefully not what happened last time, that's for sure." The Colonel's face tightened, remembering the destruction that had occurred the last time a Zoid evolved in his presence. It was somewhat begrudgingly that Karl accepted the assignment from Rudolf. On one hand, he was dealing with Raven, who was at best a cynical, sarcastic smartass, and at worst destructive beyond reason or limit. And then there was Reese... The Zoidian girl who did much worse than harm him; she controlled him. Used him. Violated any sense of morality at the expense of forcing him to attack his own brother. Took his honor and duty and loyalty and his own love for his family, and stamped them into the dirt. He felt his jaw tense as he clenched his teeth together in anger. At least he had Van and Fiona and their new Liger to help out, and perhaps hold him back from any rash decisions. "Seems like that kid is always getting into something, and it's either a load of trouble or incredible fortune." Karl sighed. Glancing at the navigation monitor off to the side, he noted they were close.
"Woah, what the-?! Karl, do you see that?!" Karl's attention snapped forward to the edge of the horizon as a massive red beam of energy pierced the sky like an arrow from below before it began to dissipate and spread outwards into fine particles, streaks of red lightning abound as crackling lights snapped to and betwixt the glowing motes strewn throughout the air. The crackling shaft of energy began playing havoc with their displays, the readings becoming erratic and the images blurring and pixelating for a moment before returning to normal.
"What the hell?! Was that the signal?!" He held his breath awaiting the young hero's reply.
"Yeah, it's off the charts now! Whatever it was, it's awake now and I don't think we have much time before we find out what it is!" Fiona's eyes grew wide, crimson orbs alight as she stared straight ahead.
"Van, I have a bad feeling about this..." Van gritted his teeth in frustration, feeling quite similar to Fiona. Eve, they were so close!
"Alright Karl, we've gotta go double time if we're gonna catch Raven and whatever it is that fired that beam!" Karl's face grew dark as he leered from beneath the brim of his cap, relaxing his shoulders as he straightened up against the bolstered seat of the Zoid.
"Are you sure it's him?" Van nodded and hunched closer to the controls.
"You think anyone else we know would put on a light show like that? Raven's all about showing off his power, I don't doubt for a second that it was him."
Reese sat on the log adjacent to the firepit eyeing the crackling fire and the foodstuffs roasting over it, her stomach growling in protest as Raven retrieved the fish and potatoes from the flames before heading indoors to prepare the rest of her meal. Raven exited their home carrying a plate piled even more full of food, and a small piece of the precious Zoid Magnite for Shadow, the chunk of mineral about half the size of his palm. Handing the glowing blue rock to the curled up Shadow he turned and handed her the plate. She ate ravenously; it would have been an amusing sight if it weren't somewhat unsettling, gnashing her teeth as she tore off a chunk of bread and just as quickly took a bite out of the roasted fish. Raven smirked and questioned her.
"Alright, I'll bite, tell me what took you and Shadow so long?" Reese stopped, chewed for a moment, and swallowed. Glancing over at the Maverick she smirked with pride.
"Well, as you can see we put the Geno Breaker through quite a process. It took us the first two days to fully repair all the damages, the next three spent restructuring the frame and the armor and weapons. The last two were spent fine tuning the systems' interlinkages and the Core's wavelength and pulse frequency." Reese paused and took another few bites, chewing and gulping her food down before she spoke again. "You see, previously the Geno Breaker was so powerful that Shadow could only remain fused to it for one hundred and eighty seconds. But with the awakening of the Zoid Eve, all Zoids are now closer than ever to their true potential. And after bathing in Her light, Shadow and the Geno Breaker were blessed, Shadow especially after being resurrected by Her. He can stay fused almost indefinitely at this rate." Shadow roared at this remark, eliciting a grin from Raven and a gentle scratch on the metal dragon's chin.
"Looks like Shadow and I have some testing to do, I take it?" Raven laughed to himself and Shadow roared full of excitement as they began to walk to the Zoid. Reese cast her eyes downward, glumly replying.
"I think so. I think I'll stay here and rest a bit... I'm still very tired." She sighed, and a pang of guilt hit Raven as he stiffened and froze mid step, guilty thoughts surfacing as he hesitated.
"She should know I want to stay here with her... But I have to at least pilot this new Zoid once if I'm going to know how to use it in battle. I'll only be gone for ten minutes, that's it. Ten minutes and I'll be back with her." Reese's lips curled into a simper as her voice trickled into his mind.
"I know you need to pilot it. It's been too long for your own good. Don't worry darling, I'll be fine." The sudden voice in his mind made Raven jump. He turned to look at the girl behind him, her eyes faintly aglow as he hesitantly thought.
"Reese..?" He blushed slightly, now acutely aware of the eavesdropping girl. She let out a weary laugh as she regarded his shocked face, her stomach doing flips as she noticed the slight blush on his cheeks.
"Oh come now, don't tell me you've forgotten my powers already? I'm gone for one week and look at you, I'm surprised you've even been able to feed yourself." His flustered expression provoked a giggle from her as she set down the plate and slowly stood up, still somewhat shaky from the exertion in the cocoon. "And to think the great and powerful Raven would be so human as to miss me." The Zoidian's mouth curved in a sly grin as she walked towards him. "Oh Raven, darling..." With that she had slipped her arms around him, embracing him as she nuzzled her head against his chest with a contented sigh. Raven felt his face grow hot at the sudden contact as he hastily returned the embrace, hands resting at her hips. With a slow inhale, then another sigh, she looked up at him, her eyes glimmering as a beaming smile danced across her face as she queried aloud. "So, what are you going to name it?" Raven stumbled over his words, his heart racing at both the new Zoid in front of him and the fact that his hands had been in contact with her hips for some time now.
"Name it..?" Raven seemed almost confused at the notion to which Reese laughed in a low sardonic manner as she released her embrace, his fingers sliding gently against her dress before their touch slipped away as she continued to chide him.
"Of course name it, it's not the Geno Breaker anymore, now is it? Specular must have done the cooking and cleaning if you're this out of sorts." He half smirked at the remark, tearing his eyes from her to gaze at the Zoid, now in thought. It was something born of an ancient legend, the embodiment of both the hubris and naivety yet the altruism and optimism of the Ancient Zoidian race. It was produced from the genetics of a tragic and evil Zoid, finding itself on a slow path to becoming more than the sum of its parts, something beyond its ancestor in both nature and purpose. It was primal but new, and evolved yet refined.
"Geno Breaker... No, the Geno Breaker is gone, you've become the Geno Kaiser!" As he walked towards it the front of the chest hissed as the prow of armor on it split, the two halves parting down the strip of gleaming dark metal as the cockpit opened up. The cockpit's chair extended downwards as he took note of the layout; the central column usually covered with switches, buttons, levers, and screens was replaced by a thin binnacle, the tall grey metal protrusion boasting only a single round screen tilted at an angle. To either side of the seat were a pair of black metal structures, the end of each one housing a row of triggers mounted in an open gauntlet, the pedals beneath the seat attached to a similar black metal frame. As Raven sat down it retracted back into the chest as the two halves of armor rejoined with a clunk surrounding him in darkness. It was then that the cockpit began to shift. The chair tilted so he was nearly standing in it, the seat and foot controls splitting into two as his legs dangled somewhat beneath him though when he applied pressure he found them meeting the controls firmly. The armrests where the controls were had likewise separated, his arms gripping the controls as flexible mounts let them move freely. The awkward position initially threw him off but as the cockpit hummed to life it all became clear. His entire vision was met with fuzzy white, then clarity as the massive monitor inside the spherical cockpit displayed his surroundings in a two-hundred and seventy degree field of view, extending almost behind him until the chair's mountings to the cockpit wall ended the panoramic screen, the only controls besides the ones at his fingertips mounted on a tall podium in front of him, the thin binnacle shrouded by a bezel of dark brassy metal, the thin semicircular keyboard beneath it backlit by amber as the base of the control column glowed a similar light. Numerous readings displayed in front of him at the top and bottom edges of the vast display, listing off systems and statuses, ammunition counts and power levels, maps, sensor readouts, various other functions and metrics filling his wandering gaze. The binnacle's screen in front of him flashed to life displaying a solemn message.
"GENO KAISER ACTIVATED.
DESTRUCTION IMMINENT."
Pressing a foot down, the machine took a step forward. Pressing the ball of his other foot down, the thrusters along the Zoid's ankles and legs flared to life as it began to hover above the ground a few meters. "I'll be back in ten minutes." Reese looked up to the Geno Kaiser and couldn't help but frown slightly.
"Just ten minutes?" Even from the enclosed cockpit he knew the saddened look she wore, the dejection in her voice obvious as he reassured with a small grin.
"And not a second longer... I promise." His words lightened her spirit and caused her to smile. As the Zoid turned the thrusters on the ankles flared to life lifting the beast further off the ground as more silt and sand billowed outwards from the force. As the boosters on the thighs engaged the Zoid rocketed off into the air, the two thruster pods on its back flaring their vents open as the nozzles within spewed fire as it headed northeast, Shadow flying alongside it as the Organoid roared in excitement.
"Just ten minutes..." She smiled warmly to herself. He'd be back soon and they would all be reunited. Her smile grew wider as she pondered their time spent together, unable to stop reminiscing about the worry in his eyes as he held her, the small pink blush that tinged his cheeks; how tender he had been towards her. But for now, she mused, it was time to eat. A week inside of a Zoid was tiring, and even though the energy from the Core had kept her and Shadow alive and well, the physical sensation of hunger was now very much intent on letting itself be felt despite her recent hearty meal. Walking inside their shabby home she rummaged through the kitchen's cupboards before pulling out a can of rations, the black lettering stamped on the old tin can reading 'pork and beans'. Her stomach gurgled and her mouth watered, the usually unpalatable meal now more enticing than ever. "Hmph, better than nothing." She grabbed the nearby can opener and worked the lid off, before dumping the contents into a small worn-out steel pot, placing it on the rusty electric burner as it very soon began to simmer and bubble away on the stovetop as a waft of aroma made her mouth salivate even more. A pang of anxiety struck her and Reese looked outside as Specular's conscience connected to hers, the message short and urgent.
"Master. Zoids and soldiers. Many. Coming quickly." Reese hurried outside to find Specular snarling at a pair of soldiers standing several meters away, guns drawn at a low carry. The patches on their uniforms were Republican but what they wore was completely different; black uniforms that hide all traces of flesh or identity, environmental masks that reflected the sun's rays on their lenses as the respirators they wore wheezed as they graveled their commands.
"This is an order from the Helic Republic Military, you are hereby to surrender yourself, and your Organoid, to President Pullerman immediately!" She narrowed her eyes and shared her thoughts with her psychic partner, eyeing the pair of Pteras' swooping in low and slow over the treetops.
"President Pulllerman? Must be the new leader of the Republic with Camford dead... They aren't messing around, we have to act quick." She cursed under her breath at the situation; her escape was going to have to be fast. "I've got a much better idea..." Reese's eyes glowed blue as she penetrated into the minds of the two men, whom suddenly began screaming at hallucinations seen only by them; their skin becoming liquid as their flesh sloughed from their melting bones, the sight of their internal organs spilling out from impossibly obtained wounds making one of them collapse onto the ground. Reese's confidence was soon erased as a pair of Shield Ligers trampled through the undergrowth, weapons deployed and poised at her. Stopping her psychic assault and leaving the two men almost catatonic as one gurgled and wheezed on the sand she glared at the Zoids. A blue burst of light flew at the nearest one only to be deflected by a quickly erected energy shield. "Specular!" The Organoid flew back to Reese, slightly disoriented by the collision. "Are you alright?!" A hiss of affirmation brought scarce comfort as more soldiers began to arrive and shout.
"That's enough! Easy, and this won't get ugly. You're coming with us, and there's nothing you or your Zoid can do to stop us!" Four soldiers quickly surrounded her, and a pair of jeeps came skidding to a stop in front, another six men hopping out. Slowly stepping backwards to Specular, she linked her mind to her partner's and spoke as her faintly glowing orbs scanned the situation further.
"Ten men and two Zoids. We can't fight our way out of this one. Take me inside you, and get out of here as fast as we can towards Raven." A hiss replied, and Reese took another backwards step towards her Organoid. Before she could react however, two soldiers raised up strange weapons and fired; from the boxlike contraptions they heaved upon their shoulders two thick cables shot towards them, and as Specular opened her chest and began to ensnare her master, electricity surged through the both of them as the cables wrapped around Specular's limbs. They screamed in pain, Specular dropping Reese as she collapsed, her master hitting the ground hard as the Organoid fell to the ground and whimpered. Paralyzed on the sands, Reese was helpless to watch as both she and Specular were shackled and loaded onto a jeep which drove a short distance around the lake to the Pteras' that had landed there, the pair of blue pterosaurs chirping and squawking fervently as their wings dimmed. Tears slipped out of her eyes as she slowly regained control of her body; her eyes flashing once before her vision faded to black, her last desperate cry to seek him. "Raven... help...
Chapter End
AN: Oh teh noes!
Prelude: "Fight me."